Waist-to-Hip Ratio
Friday, February 29, 2008The measuring tape may beat the scale when it comes to gauging your heart attack risk. Dr. Ken Davis discusses this in today’s 60 Second Housecall.
A British study has determined that measuring a person’s hip-to-waist ratio may be better than overall weight when it comes to predicting heart disease.
English researchers tracked heart disease in 25,000 British adults. Over nine years, some 1,700 men and 900 women developed heart disease. That includes 662 people who died of heart disease during the study.
Researchers analyzed the data to determine which was the best predictor of heart disease: body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference or hip circumference.
Waist-to-hip ratio was the best predictor of heart disease, regardless of other heart disease risk factors.
Excess abdominal fat may do more than just pad the waistline. It might tweak the body's hormones, upping heart risk, the researchers note.
This research indicates that no matter what your size is, it may be more important to keep your waistline in proportion to your hips.
For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.